MLES Teacher wins National Ag Teacher of the Year |
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Mirror Lake Elementary School music teacher Natalie Murray has won a national teaching award, and she received a big surprise the morning of March 31.
Natalie is already Georgia's winner for Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture for her work with Mirror Lake's garden program. She also received recognition by the USDA and National Agriculture in the Classroom Organization for Mirror Lake's school garden.
Now she has been named a National Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year winner and will represent the nation for her innovative use of agriculture to teach conservation, environmental stewardship and healthy living. This summer, she will be honored at the National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference in Saratoga Springs, NY.
The Georgia Farm Bureau, her family, staff and students were all in attendance to participate in the surprise visit.
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All 5 DCSS High Schools Named 2022 AP Honor Schools
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Superintendent Trent North is pleased to announce that all five high schools in Douglas County received an AP Honor Schools recognition announced by State School Superintendent Richard Woods on March 31, 2022. These honors reflect achievement and/or participation on the AP (Advanced Placement) tests administered by the College Board during spring of 2021.
2022 AP Access and Support Schools (65 schools named out of 472 public high schools in Georgia)
Chapel Hill, Douglas County, Lithia Springs and New Manchester High Schools earned recognition as AP Access and Support Schools, an honor given to schools with at least 30% of AP exams taken by students who identified themselves as African-American and/or Hispanic AND 30% of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher.
2022 AP STEM Schools (171 schools named out of 472 public high schools in Georgia)
Alexander High School was named an AP STEM School, an honor given to schools having a minimum of five students who tested in at least four AP STEM courses.
“We are proud that AP exam scores for our students continue to improve each year. We are especially proud that with so many changes we persevered without lowering expectations,” said Melanie Manley, assistant superintendent of student achievement for the school system. “Our teachers and administrators work hard to refine instruction and prepare the students for success. We hope to continue improving our AP exam scores so that we have schools recognized in additional categories next year.”
AP exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. AP courses are one of several ways Georgia students can access college-level learning at the high school level; students who receive a 3, 4, or 5 on an AP exam may receive college credit. GaDOE began recognizing AP Honor Schools in 2008.
For an article from the Georgia Department of Education with links to lists of all Georgia schools named 2022 AP Honor Schools, please click here.
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Virtual Elementary & Middle School Math Competitions |
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Douglas County School System hosted our 2nd Annual Virtual Mathematics Competition for elementary and middle schools. Every elementary and middle school participated with teams in the individual and group categories for 3rd through 8th grade with over 800 competitors district-wide!
Since the 2014-2015 school year, the Mathematics Competition has been a popular district-wide event. At the beginning of last school year, math leaders brainstormed viable options to continue this fun educational event while maintaining student and teacher safety. We ultimately developed our first virtual math competition using an online educational tool called Kahoot!
This school year, our coaches chose to continue using Kahoot! Coaches formed teams and practices began with some students joining group teams to brainstorm answers, while other students chose to be individual competitors.
Individual elementary and middle schools hosted their teams on competition day. The Middle School competition took place on March 22nd. The Elementary School Competition took place on March 26th. Our middle school's overall first-place winners were Chapel Hill Middle School, earning 426,000 points for the second year in a row. Mason Creek Middle School came in second place with 408,000 points! Lastly, Yeager Middle School came in 3rd place with 373,000 points!
The district's overall first-place winner at the elementary level is Holly Springs Elementary, earning 453,000 points! This is Holly Springs's 2nd year in a row winning first place in the elementary math competition. South Douglas Elementary earned 2nd place again for the second year earning 447,000 points. Lastly, Chapel Hill Elementary won the 3rd place trophy with 412,000 overall points. Congratulations to all our coaches and competitors on their hard work!
Here is the link for our elementary school winners:
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DCSS at the State Science and Engineering Fair |
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We are extremely proud of the performance of our students at the state science and engineering fair. The students worked tirelessly on their projects, and represented their schools exceptionally well. Although we are deeply and genuinely proud of all of them, two students earned some impressive honors.
Tyler Hagenburg - Mason Creek Middle School - was hand picked to win the prestigious IEEE Award for Electrical & Mechanical Engineering in the junior division. This is a special award given to only one student out of hundreds at the fair. IEEE is the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Tyler also was awarded the best in category project in the Engineering Mechanics Junior division.
Thomas Bradford - Fairplay Middle - was awarded the best in category project in the Energy Physical Junior division.
Below is a list of the other students who won ribbons and honors. Please help us to celebrate them and all other students who participated.
RIBBONS & HONORS
JUNIOR
Second Honors
Thomas Bradford - Fairplay Middle
Yahminisakti Chandrasekaran - Fairplay Middle
Tyler Hagenburg - Mason Creek Middle
Third Honors
Camille Scott - Chapel Hill Middle
Fourth Honors
Anaya Mathurin - Mason Creek Middle
Kody Palmer - Fairplay Middle
Levi Vargas - Yeager Middle
SENIOR
Third Honors
Damilola Bankole - Douglas County High
Fourth Honors
Ayomide Balogun - Lithia Springs High
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SDES 4th grader Poet and Orator Recognized |
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South Douglas elementary school recently had two 4th grade students receive special recognition for their literary work.
MacKenzie Daniel’s original poem, entitled Turtle Journey, was selected from thousands of entries as a National Finalist in the River of Words Environmental Art and Poetry Project. “I loved using my imagination and using rhymes and rhythm when I wrote my poem,” explained MacKenzie. She will be honored in May at the Decatur Public Library. Her work will be published with other award winning student artwork and poems in the 2022 Georgia River of Words Journal.
Congratulations are also in order for Tripp Starling! Tripp was recognized as a top orator in the Junior Division of the online Frederick Douglass Oratory Contest. He competed against students from across the country in the event that was sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Historical Site in Washington D.C. Tripp was presented with a plaque and a $50 Visa gift card. Tripp said, "Frederick Douglass beat the odds throughout his whole life. I feel like I beat the odds too by remembering lines from a long speech and presenting the Frederick Douglass speech with passion. It was worth the effort!"
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Sofia Corrales is a fantastic fifth-grader at Beulah Elementary! She is a dedicated student who puts forth her best effort in everything she does. Sofia demonstrates exemplary behavior and impeccable character. She maintains straight A's in all classes while setting goals to extend her learning. Sofia consistently demonstrates respect to her teachers, classmates, and everyone she meets. She is a natural leader among her peers. When she's not working hard in the classroom, she is leading the TOME club to reading victory and demonstrating exemplary skills in art. With such a great attitude and work ethic, we are sure Sofia will go far in life. Congratulations, Sofia! |
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April 20: Progress Reports for Elementary and Middle Schools
April 25: BOE Meeting
May 2: BOE Work Session
May 16: BOE Meeting
May 24, 25: Half Days for All Students
May 25: Last Day of School
May 25: Report Cards for Elementary Schools
May 26, 27: Post Planning
May 26: Graduations for CHHS, AHS (at the University of West GA)
May 27: Graduations for LSHS, NMHS, DCHS (at the University of West GA)
May 30: Holiday for All
June 3: Report Cards Mailed for Middle and High Schools
June 13: BOE Work Session/Meeting
July 18: BOE Work Session/Meeting
August 3: First Day of School
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Check out the available opportunities in the Community Bulletin Board! |
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